The Longer The Fall by Aviva Gat

Author:Aviva Gat [Gat, Aviva]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

“What do you mean, ‘they know’?” Hunter asked her, standing up to get two mugs of coffee from the small kitchenette in his city council office.

“Someone knows about us and is using it to blackmail me,” she responded.

“Us?” he questioned as though he didn’t know exactly what she was talking about.

“The night we saw Othello,” she reminded him. “Someone wants money or they promise to go to the media with proof that I cheated.”

Hunter returned to the table and placed a mug in front of Madeline before sitting back down on his side. He nodded thoughtfully. “Madeline, that was years ago, who cares?”

“It’s unethical.”

“It was before you were a senator,” he said. “What, is the ethics committee going to investigate you?”

“This will jeopardize my reelection. Voters don’t want to vote for a cheater. And yes, instead of working to pass bills, I’ll be fighting the democrats and journalists who will want to take me down.”

“Can’t they find the guy who’s blackmailing you and stop it?”

Madeline sighed and explained to Hunter that time was running out and the FBI was failing at their job.

“What does Brandon have to say about it?” Hunter asked when she finished talking.

“He doesn’t suspect anything.”

“Uh huh,” Hunter responded as though unconvinced. “What do you want from me?”

“I just wanted you to know,” she said. “I don’t know how much they know. If it gets out, if it gets to the media, your name could get out too. And if Rhonda or your daughter see it, it could be a problem for you too. Or I don’t know about city council politics, but it could also hurt you here. I just don’t know.”

“Rhonda and I aren’t together anymore,” he responded. “We’re on the process for the divorce. She has custody of our daughter, who hates me already anyway.”

“Why?”

“Nasty divorce,” he responded, waving his hands. “No need to get into it. How can I help?”

“Well, if it gets out, you can support me, say it’s not true. People will want to talk to you, to know how we know each other. Just say good things about me.”

“I only have good things to say about you,” he said. “Everything wasn’t your fault.”

The word everything held so much weight between them. There was so much that had been left unsaid since the time they broke up. Even the night of Othello they never spoke about how things had ended between them. There really was no ending, if Madeline looked back on it. It wasn’t like a book whose pages ran out and everything was settled before the last word. Rather, it was like the last chapter was ripped out and she was left not knowing what happened after Hunter left her apartment that night. They hadn’t spoken, neither had reached out to the other, both too stubborn to be the one to initiate anything. Madeline had waited. After a few days, she was angry. A week, she was annoyed. Two weeks, she was single.

Madeline nodded. “We were young,” she commented.

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